Palawan may ban compressor fishing

The Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Palawan may ban fishing through the use of compressors in a bid to once and for all put an end to the so-called muro-ami fishing method.

Gov. Joel Reyes said he has learned that the Abines fishing fleet continues to operate in the vicinity of islets in the province using compressors. They call the modified system "paaling," pointed out Rep. Antonio Alvarez (first district).

This reportedly skirted the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources’ ban on muro-ami. Thus, the fishing fleet actually adopted the more modern compressor technique to skirt the law.

Rep. Ignacio Arroyo (fifth district, Negros Occidental) plans to call for a legislative inquiry into this practice by Prime A of the Abines-Garcia group following the recovery of 21 Negrenses from the San Pio, the mother ship of the fleet currently operating in the China Sea off Palawan.

Some of the rescued Negrenses, who hail from hinterland barangays in the fifth district, detailed their tales of woes that included long hours of diving, meager food rations, and even flogging when they reported sick.

The first eight succeeded in getting their release. They did this when they returned the P3,500 given them by the firm’s recruiters which they had left with their families.

Subsequently, according to Rep. Arroyo, his nephew, former Negros provincial board member Enrique Montilla, returned the money he had paid to enable him to secure the release of the rest of the 21 on board San Pio.

Gov. Reyes said the practice must somehow be curbed regardless of whether it is paaling or muro-ami because it destroys corals and other marine life.

Hopefully, the legal question can be resolved since the province can adopt guidelines with its Bantay Dagat fleet tasked with enforcing local laws or ordinances.

Meanwhile, the Bantay Dagat reported catching 14 fishermen using cyanide. But there was one setback — the BFAR can prosecute them only in mid-September when the fisheries’ lawyer is able to reach Palawan.

That, to a certain extent, shows some deficiencies in the enforcement of fishing laws and regulations.

Rumors Of Witches And Cannibalism

We were still in Puerto Princesa last Wednesday when rumors swept the city about the arrest of four persons for the murder of a wedding guest whose body was roasted and eaten as well as served during the reception.

Since that reportedly happened in Narra town, where immigrants abound, the talk that gripped local residents was of witchcraft and cannibalism. Witchcraft was the subject of speculations more than cannibalism.

Worse, even Senior Superintendent Perla Bacual, Narra police chief, said she is looking into the possibility that some of the suspects may have been involved in other disappearances in that town since the 1980s.

Police arrested Eladio Baule and his son, Gerard, together with nephews Johnny Buyto and Satuary Pequi. They were charged for the killing of Benjie Ganay. The incident reportedly occurred after Ganay "accidentally" touched the bottom of Baule’s daughter during the wedding party.

After the incident, the four, who were reportedly inebriated, set fire to Ganay’s body. They later ate parts of the remains of the hapless victim.

Worse, they allegedly served some of the roasted flesh to other drinkers at the party.

Police learned about the incident only eight days later. This was when the two nephews confessed to it to shocked police investigators. Both, however, insisted that they did not have a hand in Ganay’s killing, although they admitted that they were forced to eat parts of the gory food.

That report immediately triggered widespread speculations that those who did it were "witches," a common term for those engaged in wizardry among Filipinos. And the police chief fueled speculations that the family may have actually been on it for quite some time with several unsolved disappearances recorded in the police blotter.

No Retreat For 14-Year-Old Daughter

A 14-year-old daughter, chained for a year in their house in Don Salvador Benedicto, Negros Occidental, said yesterday she wants to see "my parents and brother chained in jail for life."

She also disputed claims that she had indicated a desire to file a desistance in her suit against her parents, Teodoro and Virginia Librando, and brother, Teodoro III.

The victim filed a complaint for violation of Republic Act 7610, or the Anti-Child Abuse Act, against her parents with the provincial prosecutor’s office. Actually, it was the Department of Social Welfare and Development that filed the complaint on her behalf.

The teenager said she was subjected to a series of extreme acts of cruelty through emotional, psychological and physical abuse. That included slapping, pinching, punching, kicking, bumping her head, and even burning her arms and other parts of her body.

Later, after repeated beating with blunt instruments, they chained her inside their house for more than a year.

The complaint stated that these acts deliberately debased, degraded and demeaned her intrinsic worth and dignity as a human being.

The teenager was accompanied by Merle Garcia and Milagros de los Reyes, both social workers, and a policewoman before assistant provincial prosecutor Hernane Jardeleza.

The case surfaced after the 14-year-old girl escaped from their house last July 23, hid in a forest and later sought the assistance of a couple who, in turn, asked the help of DSB officials after giving her temporary refuge in Barangay Quezon in San Carlos City.

She has been undergoing psychological care at the DSWD Iloilo regional office with DSB Mayor Cynthia de la Cruz personally assuring her protection and assistance even in her future studies. Sen. Jamby Madrigal also offered to help the teenager.

The eyes of Negrenses are focused on the case, one of the worst incidents of child abuse. Her parents, incidentally, begged for forgiveness from the girl when they were brought before her by social workers and the police.

Until the other day, the girl remained steadfast in her desire to have both parents and brother prosecuted. The only problem: if they are convicted, matters will get complicated for her eight siblings.

But the law is the law. And the Librando couple must face the music for what they did to their child.

Arroyo To Address Sugar Technologists’ Gab

Sugar farmers and producers from all over the country have been electrified by the announcement that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has accepted the invitation for her to address the Philippine Sugar Technologists’ 51st national convention on Aug. 18.

The opening ceremonies and the convention will be held at the Cebu International Convention Center of the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel in Lahug. More than 1,000 delegates, including foreigners, have already registered.

The affair was sweetened further with the reported acceptance of Sen. Mar Roxas to address the second day as resource speaker. Sugar Regulatory Administration chief James Ledesma will be the guest during the Gala Night.

For sugarmen, they are expecting the President’s reaction to the proposal of the Philippine Sugar Alliance for the manufacture of ethanol (alcohol) from sugarcane juice as a means to solve our dependence on imported fossil fuel and assure us of an indigenous and sustainable resource for our fuel needs.

Right now, according to a study by the Philippine Millers’ Association, there are 12 countries either using or exporting ethanol. Brazil is the biggest manufacturer of ethanol. But the United States, the United Kingdom and some European countries have already embarked on ethanol which is used mainly as an additive to gasoline. Thailand is one the latest to have joined the club.